blog: about death and dying and life and living

This week I have posted an interactive blog...psst...that means I'd love your input! I would love to engage with you more about death, dying, life and living. This is part two of a three part series where publicly, and staunchly, Atheist Richard Dawkins takes us on a journey where he investigates Sex, Death and The Meaning of Life. In his quest Richard endeavors to know more about death, and from a surprisingly removed position regarding both religion and science.

In this episode Richard looks for answers to his questions from the funeral pyres of India, perspectives of a Christian after life, and his own DNA genome sequencing.

In what looks to be part of a fascinating series, I invite you to join with me in a discussion beginning with my favourite topic...death!

This second episode provides much for me to discuss regarding scientific discovery as well as the notion of an after life. And while I remain neutral regarding the various perspectives, be they religious and/or scientific, I do have one thought where science and death meet...

I leave you with this question as we join Richard in on his query of Sex, Death and The Meaning of life...

Is scientific discovery really just an evolutionary ruse to cover up the fact that humans are afraid to die and that somehow, someday a cure for death will be found?

Please engage with me in the comments section below, on Passionate Life Consulting's Facebook page here or on my own Facebook page here.I can't wait to hear what you have to say once you've watched this particular episode!!!Passionately yours for another day,Ava

Before there were countries called 'Canada', 'Australia', 'United Kingdom', 'Africa', etc. there was just dirt, water, plants and animals...

When did the notion for borders and boundaries become so entrenched into our psyche? And more importantly...how can we break some of them down, or bridge the divide between, so that the idea of us and them is crowded out with bringing us all together...for the greatest good for all...

Today is Australia Day where I live, and for the most part it is a huge celebration. This is a also big day for people getting their citizenship, yet another boundary divide, or bridge, in some ways. I got my citizenship in 2008, when I moved here from Canada, where if I choose, I can go back to live one day. For some of today's new citizens, they will have to forfeit their country of origin...because those are the rules of their boundaries and borders

...on this rock covered in dirt, water, plants and animals...

Back to Australia Day...mate...!Barbeques, beer, fireworks, family and friends. That's what is the done thing here on January 26th, every year...and thehotter the temperature the better!

I love the summer heat here...all kinds of celebrations, too, because they bring communities together. They make people feel included in a collective of like-minded people...

But what happens when past events have created a divide, both physically and emotionally? What happens when there is pain associated with Australia Day.

For some here in Australia this day reminds them that their families were divided and in some cases, destroyed. This is not unique to the indigenous peoples of Australia but as I live here, this is what I will write about on this particular day, January 26, 2013.

Some people call this day Invasion Day but that sets up a whole other problem...that of victim and perpetrator. It creates more divide of 'us' and 'them' when we add more labels or titles like Invasion Day or even Australia Day for that matter! As if Australia didn't exist as a continent until it was officially named...

I think it's vital to acknowledge that Australia is an amazing place to live. I have lived here for 11.5 years and consider it my home. I love Canada but the weather...well...let's just say I'm a sun lover and leave it at that!

But why continue with borders at all? Why perpetuate boundaries between us. The 'us' I am referring to is humanity here. Why, when most of the global population, scientific or otherwise, now acknowledges that humans really are all the same underneath our very slight unique differences.

We all love, cry, rage, and sleep.

We all essentially want the best for ourselves in this short time we exist in human form.

We all want to be loved and accepted for who we are.

I leave you today with a question...who are you really?

Underneath Australian, Canadian, African or any other identification...who are you really?

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

I, too, am by nature an optimist. I am the youngest of three and the only girl, my saving grace, I think! My brother's are ten and six years older than me so I learned at a very young age to defend myself or die trying. Resilience is what I learned most from them and from my childhood in general.

But resilience alone can only go so far. It helps to know that I can bounce back from anything.That, apart from death, I will survive and better yet, thrive! I've always had that attitude but the optimistic side of me needed coaxing.

I had what I would call a predisposition toward being optimistic, but I was a 'good' girl growing up. I was relatively quiet, mostly did as I was told, and rarely got into serious trouble. I was told I was shy, but I now look back and see that I was suppressed from being my authentic self, the truly bubbly, optimistic, passionate person that I am today! Low self-esteem for various reasons caused me much doubt, about myself, about the world around me, and about what sort of future I could have.

This is where optimism comes into play. My motto of the moment is believing that 'something wonderful is about to happen'...

I have spent a lifetime working through my inner demons, getting to know and love my inner angels and, that to accept both as equal parts of who I am, is a balanced way to live. I will always look on the bright side of life...because, well...why wouldn't I?

Now, here's the good bit to this whole story...because there's always a good bit, right? Wink, wink...think optimism!!

We all have this, we all have access to optimism. I believe that through suffering comes optimism, resilience and, my favourite word, passion!

If you have suffered you have the greatest access to a miracle, it's just patiently waiting for you to look within and see that you, too can look to the brighter side of life. Even if it's an atom-sized spec of brightly coloured dust! It's still something. It's still a call out to the universe that says you are here and you are believing that something wonderful is about to happen.

And...there's an And, you ask? And, the other brilliant thing about optimism...it's like any other muscle...if you use it over and over again, it builds and gets bigger. My sense of optimism right now isHUGEthough it doesn't mean my life is all one big bowl of cherries but man,the cherries that I do have sure do taste delicious! The more I eat from the fruits of optimism, positivity, passion, purpose and possibility, the more the tree from which they come seems to grow.

So...enjoy your "cherries" now...eat them with gusto now...nurture the tree from which they grow with love, respect, joy, and good deeds...and you will have plenty more where they came from...now and for the rest of the time you have left in the body you have with the life it's in!With love, Ava

Conversation Catalyst is a half hour Skype complimentary session if you feel the desire, want, need to share about death, dying, life and living, but have yet to or are unable to participate in the workshops below...

I never set reSolutions for a new year...this, to me, implies the potential of unfulfilled expectations by the time the end of the year roles around. And why would anyone want to be disappointed with the life they're living...right?Rather, I set NewYear'sreVolutions...

At the beginning of the year, I ask of myself..."How can I revolutionise my world and those around me? What can I actively take part in today that will make a difference to radically alter my current reality?''

This year I am reVolutionising PASSION, my favourite inspirational word at the moment!

My goal is to revolutionise how people see passion in their own lives! And so I have decided to call myself a PASSIONIST! In a Facebook post of my new word...PASSIONIST...colleague and friend Daiana Magalhaes ofInstant Online Presence suggested an upgrade: "Passionist is what you do, passionista is who you are!"

Passionist...passionista...I'LL TAKE THEM BOTH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

And, as far as I knew...it was a new word for a new year...based solely on intuition...and nothing on researching the word first...OOPS! ...keep on reading and I'll explain...

After getting all hot and bothered about the my new found word, I thought it best to look up some images that could represent my passionistic frame of mind...well...According to Wikipedia, there is a group of nuns and priests who call themselves The Passionists! You can read more by clicking on the Wikipedia icon to your left.

Passionists, in their traditional roles, were pastoral carers!!! You can read more about the roles of one particular monastery by clicking on the link: The Monastery: Passionate Sisters

Now, I am not strictly a religious person even though I am Jewish. I have dipped into many faiths and find that I resonate most with the moral and ethical aspects of the teachings of Jesus, but that's as far as it goes really. I am, however...and this is where it gets really, really, really interesting for me and my reVolutionary plans...in the process of starting work as a pastoral carer!!

This, my friends, is what I have included into my plans for 2013 through an organisation called myPastoralCarer. I am one of many new pastoral carers involved in providing religious; non, inter, and/or multi-denominational guidance with an emphasis on online/Skype conversations. This organisation is so new that it's not quite open for public viewing, but I will let you all know in a special blog very soon, stay tuned!

I leave you with this quote on passion...and patience...for, in my desire to inspire I too, must be patient with the process...

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What participants have to say

"I thoroughly recommend attending Ava’s seminar, it is very thought provoking and enlightening. It also helped me to gain perspective about what really matters at the end of the day. Ava’s embraced the day with sensitivity and humour and I left feeling like I had gained clarity in being able to come to terms with death."

"Thanks Ava for a most interesting and touching event. I am inspired by others stories of their experiences of death. Certainly a unique workshop and I look forward to seeing it grow and evolve. Well done you!"

"What a fantastic workshop. A workshop on how to live a more passionate and fulfilling life, by exploring your eminent death. Done with humour and honesty - for more info on this intriguing and professional workshop, go to...(this website)"